- ADRIAN FRATER
Reno's Omar Johnson (right) fights off a challenge from an Arnett Gardens defender during Sunday's Wray and Nephew National Premier League game at the Frome sports ground in Westmoreland. Arnett won the game 1-0.Adrian Frater, News Editor
WESTERN BUREAU:
WADADAH FC registered their second home win in five days on Thursday night when goals by Jermaine Anderson (penalty) and Oliver Trail gave them a 2-0 win over Arnett Gardens in their rescheduled Wray & Nephew NPL fixture on a soggy Jarrett Park surface.
"We handled the condition better than Arnett Gardens. You could say we out muscled them today," said Wadadah's coach Anthony 'Follies' Williams.
His team defeated Village United 1-0 on Sunday, but loss 0-3 to Portmore United on Wednesday.
"Six points in a week is something we can smile about," Williams added.
UNDERFOOT CONDITIONS
However, for Arnett Gardens' coach Jerome Waite, who was somewhat gracious in defeat, it was a case of his team buckling under the difficult underfoot conditions, having not properly recovered from playing under similar conditions in their 1-0 victory over Reno FC on the rain-drenched Frome Sports Ground in Westmoreland, on Sunday.
"While we cannot take anything away from Wadadah's perfor-mance, it was rather difficult for us to handle such difficult conditions twice in a matter of days" said Waite. "I guess we just did not recover well enough from that experience at Reno."
Despite the loss, Arnett remain in joint second place in the standings with Tivoli Gardens on 16 points, five adrift of leaders, Harbour View. Meanwhile, Wadadah leapt three places in the standings to join Village United in fifth place on 11 points.
In a difficult first half, which saw the conditions ruling out passing the ball on the ground as an option and making dribbling all but impossible, Wadadah seemed the more composed of the teams with their main attackers, Daniel Rickettes and Anderson, keeping the Arnett defence under constant pressure.
After squandering several early scoring opportunities, Wadadah finally opened their account from the penalty spot in the 40th minute. On a break down the left side, Anderson had his heels clipped inside the goal area. He made no mistake from the spot, booting home to make the half-time score 1-0.
The second half, which was delayed for over 25 minutes as the referee supervised the remarking of several sections of the muddy playing surface, brought more misery for Arnett Gardens. They were forced on the defensive for long period as they struggled to come to grips with Wadadah's 'kick and run' tactics.
After battling bravely, especially through Gerald Neil, to keep the Wadadah attackers at bay, Arnett had their defence breached for the second time in the 69th minute when Trail scored.
He pounced on a rebound after goalkeeper Julian McLeish had brilliantly blocked a close range powerhouse from Socrates Christie, and fired home, making the final score 2-0.
"I think we were two or three goals better than Arnett Gardens today and really deserve this win," said Williams. "We just need to start winning consistently."
SCORESHEET
Wadadah FC 2
Jermaine Anderson 40th (penalty)
Oliver Trail 69th
Arnett Gardens 0
